Step Back in Time
by Vinyllia
Summary: In which The Doctor meets Gene Hunt, and together they solve a the mystery that will change Gene's life forever.
1. Never alone for long

Gene Hunt stood in the middle of the cold empty street outside the Railway Arms pub. A chill of pain rushed through him. He was no stranger to this feeling. He was used to being alone.

Although he hadn't felt it for a while this time. He somehow had fooled himself that it would be different this time, and his team; Ray, Chris, Alex, and Shaz were staying for good. They had been through a lot together; far more than he had with anyone else.

But now they were gone, and he would never see them again.

He cleared his through awkwardly stopping tears from appearing in his tired eyes. Although nobody was around, he knew that he would feel like a right poof if he did let himself cry.

He always felt like this, so he didn't know why he should find it so hard.

But there was something about his most recent team that he hadn't felt with any previous teams. He felt a warmth and genuine love for them, rather than the simple feeling of duty that he felt for the others.

And as for Sam; that was the first time any lower police officer had spoken to him like that. Maybe now a days' police officers tended to have more lip and courage. It had certainly been proven similarly in Alex.

Gene smiled, remembering the old days when he was together with his team. All the good times they had together. It felt as if they were a proper family, like the kind that Gene hadn't had for years.

He was suddenly disturbed from his thoughts from a loud whooshing sound coming from the end of the street. He turned his body, squinting to try and work out where the sound was coming from. A few old sheets of news paper scuffled past his feet, and then the noise stopped.

Gene looked around, wondering if anyone else had heard the noise, and had come to see what it was. No luck. He was still alone; alone, and wondering if he'd finally gone mad, if he was now hearing strange noises.

He decided that he had been standing in the street staring at the pub for just a little too long, and turned to head back towards the police station; when just then, he heard voices coming from the end of the street. Gene turned abruptly, straining to hear what the voices were saying. He began walking slowly towards the source of the voices, feeling in his pocket for his gun, just in case he needed it. He caught some of the words being exchanged; there was a man and a woman, talking about the 80s as if they were on some sort of tour. The two people emerged into view, the man looking like some sort of homosexual tramp with a bowtie, and the woman looking like a modest prostitute, he decided. The man looked toward Gene, and exclaimed an "Ah!" sound and began walking towards him.

Gene raised his gun, as he always did when meeting strangers he was unsure about. He frowned, speaking to the man, "Where the bloody 'ell did you come from?"

The man replied, completely undeterred by the gun, "Oh just from my police box, but you don't have these anymore…shame…so you're probably wondering where it came from, but I should tell you not to worry because I am a police man and everything shall be alright, dear man, because I—"

Gene interrupted the man, feeling decidedly infuriated by what the man was saying, "What do mean, you're a police officer? You look more like a poof to me." Gene raised his gun higher, adjusting his grip, "And I never saw you before, so don't give me that bollocks."

The man laughed, "Well done. You're more clever than you look." He began circling Gene, "Now, if you'd care to put down that gun, I'll explain why I'm here."

Gene did so, but carefully keeping track of where he put it. "Alright then. Enlighten me."


	2. Eerily Quiet

The man stood, a half smile plastered across his face, staring into Gene's eyes, his eyes laughing. Gene shuffled uncomfortably, raising his eyebrows, "What?"

The man replied after a while longer of studying Gene's face. "Have I seen you somewhere before?"

Gene's brow was furrowed, a look of confusion and impatience on his face.

The redheaded woman spoke for the first time, Gene's eyes snapping onto her, quickly studying her figure, along with a very short skirt. "Doctor, why are we here, actually?"

She was, regrettably, Scottish, Gene noted. His perceptions of Scottish birds weren't so high, since the trouble he'd had with that tart Jackie Queen.

He looked back at the Doctor, who laughed, then began prancing about, waving a glowing green object through the air. "Come on, Amy, think." He used large hand gestures as he spoke. "We're here, in the 80's, I'm sonicking, it's quiet, the streets are empty…there's a large man alone outside the pub…But! What's wrong with this picture?"

Amy stared at the Doctor as if he'd just breathed fire from his nose. "Well…it's quiet…?" she replied unsure.

The Doctor looked at her. Suddenly she felt stupid, and tried to verify her answer, "Too quiet…never good."

There was an awkward silence amongst them, then the Doctor burst back into animation, pointing at her, "Exactly! Now, it's the evening, a busy pub, lights on, filled with smoke…why is it so quiet?"

The Doctor crept cautiously towards the doorway of the large wooden pub, sonic screwdriver at the ready. He held out his hand to reach for the door, the hairs on the back of it standing up slowly as it grew closer. His palm touched the panel of the door and a small spark connected with his hand, causing him to draw it back in pain. He exclaimed, massaging his throbbing fingers. "Looks like someone doesn't want me in their pub." His eyes flicked over to Gene.

His face was downturned, his eyes glancing over the whole doorway, trying to work out what the bloody 'ell just happened. It had never happened to anyone before, so why did it just now.

"Can I use your hand for a moment?" The Doctor took hold of Gene's wrist before he could reply, and placed it on the door. Gene retorted, then grew silent in surprise that he was not electrocuted like the Doctor.

"Hmm…" a smile crept across the Doctor's angular face "I think we need to pay the landlord a visit."

"Wait!" Gene cried a panic rising in him. The Doctor and Amy's glances turned to him quickly, whilst Gene stood feeling stupid as he quickly thought of an excuse for them to not enter the pub. Even if he did tell the truth they would never understand. Nobody ever did. "Look, they're probably too busy. You won't get a word in edgeways. Let's not bother them now." He tried to defer the Doctor finding out the truth, which he begrudgingly knew was inevitable, and dreaded it. His tone was heavy, despite his attempts to cover it with a lack of eye contact and a clear of the throat, "It'll probably be less empty tomorrow. There's no match on."

By then he planned to be unreachable. Gene could feel the oncoming sense of guilt, and he was determined to do whatever he could to separate himself from it. That was why he led the seedy lifestyle he did of violence and drink. It was to forget. He strayed away from his feelings so he didn't have to suffer because of what he knew was the truth.

It would be easier to avoid having to deal with the fallout as the Doctor found out the truth of what Gene really did for a living.


End file.
